FRIDAY BUZZ: Senators Propose Bill to Simplify FAFSA

June 20, 2014

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​Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) yesterday proposed legislation that eventually could be wrapped into the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA). The Financial Aid Simplification and Transparency (FAST) Act, among other provisions, would simplify the 108-question Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Under the legislation, the FAFSA would become a postcard-sized form with two questions: household income from two years ago and current family size. The bill also would restore year-round Pell Grants and streamline all federal grant and loan programs into, according to the senators, "one Pell Grant program, one undergraduate loan program, one graduate loan program, and one parent loan program."

Some of the bill’s other provisions deal with over-borrowing by students and the early notification of student financial aid.

To read more about the issue and the pending HEA reauthorization, see:

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